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Sacrificial Living

The Words of a Hero

By Linda Michaels
CBN.com Community Producer

Those were the words of Queen Esther, a woman who risked her life to save the Jewish people from destruction. Her story is found in the book of Esther and tells of how she faced possible execution when she asked King Ahasuerus to stop the wicked plans of Haman to destroy the Jews.

The words "If I perish,,I perish" go straight to the heart of what it means to be a hero. Being a hero means being willing to put others lives ahead of ones own.

How many of us would do what Queen Esther did? Would you, or I be willing to put our life on the line for the sake of someone else?

I have tremendous admiration for five men who in 1956 flew into the jungles of Ecuador and dared to make contact with the most dangerous tribe known to man, the Waodani (whoa-DONNY) also known as “Auca,” or naked savage. The men were speared multiple times and hacked to death with machetes when they encountered the savage natives.

While the event was tragic, it was far from a "senseless" tragedy. In the years that followed the tribe came to the saving truth of Jesus Christ and converted to Christianity.

These men were true heroes and their deaths were no accident, nor was the outcome something they were unprepared for. The son of one of those missionaries -- just a boy when his Dad set out for Ecuador -- asked his father if he would fight the natives if they attacked him. "No," the missionary answered. When the boy asked why, his father explained that while he was ready to die, the savage natives were not. So he would not fight. Like Queen Esther, the attitude of these men was, "If I perish, I perish." Their cause was worth that ultimate sacrifice

So what about you and me? Are we so surrendered to the will of our Savior that we would be willing to walk a similar path? Maybe none of us know for sure until we are faced with that situation, but there is no denying that there is nothing more Christ-like than being will to lay down one's life for someone ele. And there is no guarantee that we will not one day be called upon to make such a choice.

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